OPINION

By Mike DeCourcy

updated 10:10 p.m. ET June 29, 2009

Mike DeCourcy

As he went through the final week of the season with the North Carolina Tar Heels, one of Ed Davis' many contributions to their championship was outside the job description for a 6-10 power forward: comic relief.

Instead of obsessing over this one last shot at a title, UNC's upperclassmen distracted themselves by teasing Davis about his impending — actually, imaginary — departure for the NBA.

"I always said I was coming back," Davis says. "The players used to joke about it. They'd say, 'This is your last practice today. This is your last time in the weight room.' I wasn't thinking about it. I was just trying to win a national championship."

Though he started only twice last season and was on the bench more than off it, Davis became nearly as big an Internet sensation as Susan Boyle. The mock drafts loved every little sound bite from his freshman season, when he averaged 6.7 points and 6.6 rebounds. The whispers of a few NBA scouts made him look like lottery bait online.

This sort of attention could overwhelm someone with a weaker constitution.

"I never got involved in all that," he says. "I'm not on all those mock draft websites. I just play basketball and watch TV."

When reporters rushed into the locker room at Ford Field after Carolina blew out Michigan State to win the NCAA championship, Davis told them he wasn't interested in entering the NBA draft. They printed his words, but few believed. So Carolina put out a press release six days later, and the early-entry list was revealed nearly a month after that, and Davis still was a Tar Heel.

Davis' father, Terry, was a rugged NBA bruiser during his 10-year NBA career. He made a lot of money (more than $14 million) but not a lot of baskets (only 3,061 career points). Ed's talent can be developed into something more, given time.

"He has a long way to go offensively," Carolina coach Roy Williams says. "I think if he improves at a rate like he did this year, then you'll talk about a top 10, top 12 pick." Davis is in no hurry to leave Carolina because he is "having fun." He spent June in summer school taking a class in public speaking. He is working on his body to make it stronger and his game to make it more complete.

He will have a greater role as a sophomore, though, a heavier burden to carry. The Heels lost four starters who combined to average 66.2 points for the NCAA champions. They get back Deon Thompson, Tyler Zeller and Marcus Ginyard — all talents — but Davis has the most obvious star quality.

"I feel like we're going to be a totally different team, so you'll see different parts of everyone's games," Davis says. "I just want to get back into the position we were last year, try to win every game."

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